Marking machine



. Feb. 24, 1942. c, E EDWARDS MARKING MACHINE Filed Dec 29, 1939 2sheets-sheet 1 Fi gffl.

Feb. Z4, 1942. c.` E. EDWARDS 2,274,595

MARKING MACHINE Filed Deo. 29, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig-.

AWM/7U@ Patented Feb. 24, 1942 MARKING MACHINE Charles E. Edwards,Beverly, Mass., assigner to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boroughof Flemington, Jersey N; J., a corporation` of New Application December29, 1939, Serial No. 311,614V

(Cl. lOl-410)v 8 Claims.

This invention relates to marking machines of the type in which theprinting head is provided w-ith a plurality of .adjustable type wheelsfor printing a line of characters and also with a plurality of auxiliarytype piecesA which are removably mounted on a support where they arearranged for printing additional lines of characters on opposite sidesoi the line formed by the type wheels.

Marking machines of this type are customarily provided with means forheating both the type Wheels and the auxiliary type pieces. In themachines heretofore constructed, diiculty has been encountered ingainingaccess to all the auxiliary type pieces when it becomes necessary tochange them and also in preventing the hot auxiliary type pieces fromspilling `out of the machine when the changes are made. f

With the above diiculties in view, it is an object o-f this invention toprovide a marking machine having an improved auxiliary type supportwhich can be quickly moved` to a convenient` position in front of themachine where all the auxiliary type pieces are well supported and arereadily accessible to the operator.

To this end and as illustrated, the invention provides a marking machinewhich comprises a printing head vhaving an auxiliary type supportarranged to secure auxiliary type pieces in proper position, the*printing head and auxiliary type support being connected by meanspermitting the support to` be lowered away from the head to separate theauxiliary type therefrom, and also permitting sidewise` swingingmovement of the auxiliary type support in its lowered position so thatall the auxiliary type pieces may be moved to a location infront ofthehead where they arer readily and safely accessible. By thisarrangement the auxiliary type support is maintained substantiallyhorizontalk in its several poarranged'to preventj relative tiltingmovement between the auxiliary type support and the type head when thesupport` is in its type-changing y position.

Invention is also to be recognized in the ccnstruction of the markingplate whereby it may to the accompanying drawings and will be pointedout in the appendedclaims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a printing head embodying my invention andshowing the auxiliary type support in the type-changing position;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the printing head showing theauxiliarytype support latched to the printing head, the type support being in alowered positionfwhere the auxiliary type pieces are clear of theprinting wheels;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the marking plate showing therelationship between the marking plate, the auxiliary type pieces, and atype wheel; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective View looking at the under surface of the markingplate and showing the relationship yof the plate to the auxiliary typepieces and the manner in which the type characters project through anopening in the plate.

This invention is shown as embodied in a marking machine of the typedisclosed in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 2,205,399, grantedJune 25J 1940, upon an application filed in my name. In the drawings, lindicates the frame of the printing head which corresponds to the headyI2 of the marking machine disclosed in the patent mentioned above.Connected to the frame Iii is a hollow cylindrical support ll having asleeve l2 upon which is rotatably mounted a plurality oi type wheels I4.The type wheels are adjusted by a handle l5 (Fig. 2) which rotates thesupport through a train of gears i6, I8, 26 and the type wheels are heldin their adjusted position by pawls 22 which are supported above thetype Wheels and engage the wheels between adjoining type projections.The characters on the type Wheels are heated by an electrical heatingcoil which is positioned within the hollow cylindrical support H and isconnected to a convenient source of power by conductors (not shown). Theconstruction so far described is similar to that disclosed in the patentreferred to above towhich reference may be had for a more detaileddescrip-tion of the same.

The illustrated machine is arranged to print two lines of characters inaddition to the line made bythe type wheels I4. The two additional linesof printing are positioned respectively on 1 opposite sides of the lineprinted by the type wheels and are made by auxiliary type pieces 24which are supported by a frame 26 constituting part of an auxiliary typesupporting assembly. The auxiliary type supporting assembly is arrangednormally to hold the type pieces 24 in nested engagement with the typeWheels I4 and, when it is desired to change the type pieces, theassembly is adaptedv to be moved into a substantially horizontalposition in front of the machine where both lines of type pieces 24 areadequately supported and are readily accessible to an operator forchanging purposes.

The assembly consists of an L-shaped member 21 (Fig. 1) which isadjustably connected to the printing head by a rod 28 that is slidablymounted in bearings 36, 32 which project outwardly from one side of thehead I6. Pivoted to one end of the L-shaped member 21 is a rod 34 whichsupports one side of the rectangular auxiliary type supporting frame 26.ported in spaced bearings 38, 46 which project outwardly from the upperand lower portions of the printing head, the spaced points of supportpreventing any tilting movement between the supporting frame 26 and theprinting head. Thus the frame 26 is rmly supported while in thetype-changing position, shown in Fig. 1, and there is no danger I" theframe w-obbling or slipping off the machine when the type pieces arebeing changed thereby spilling the hot type pieces.

The type supporting assembly is normally held in its upper or printingposition by a spring 42, the shoulders on the auxiliary type pieces 24being nested in recesses in the type wheels I4 (Fig. 3) adjacent to thetype carrying projections. The spring 42 is connected at one end to apin 46 on the member which supports the type head and at its other endto an eye bolt 46 mounted on a bar 56 which is connected to the long armof the L-shaped member 21. To change the auxiliary type pieces, the typesupporting assembly is rst moved downwardy against the resistance of thespring 42 by applying pressure to the bar 56 and the frame 26 is thenswung outwardly about the rod 34 to the position shown in Fig. 1. Whenthe assembly reaches the predetermined position in its downward movementwhere the auxiliary type pieces are clear of the type projections on thewheels I4, it is held in its lowered position by a latch 52 which snapsover a tooth 54 on the member 21, the latch being urged into engagementwith the tooth by a spring 56. With the assembly latched in its loweredposition, all the operator is required to do is to swing the frame 26 toits position in front of the printing head (Fig. 1).

The frame 26 is biased in a clockwise direction by a torsion spring 58which surrounds the rod 34 between the bearing 38 and the member 21 andis connected at one end to a pin 66 on the rod 34 and at its other endto a stud 62 on the under side of the L-shaped member 21. Clockwisemovement of the frame toward the type head is limited by a rod 64 whichextends upwardly from the frame 26 and which, when the frame is properlypositioned beneath the type head, seats in a recess 66 in the L-shapedmember 21 and a recess 68 in a lug which projects outwardly from thelower portion of the head I6. The rod 64 also forms a convenient handlefor moving the frame 26 to and from the type-changing position shown inFig. 1. 'I'he recesses 66, 68 are positioned so as properly to.

locate the auxiliary type pieces on the frame The rod 34 is sup- 26 withrespect to the line of type carrying projections on the wheels I4. Asthe rod 64 moves into contact with the recesses 66, 68, it snaps past aspring latch 16 which holds it in the recesses. When the frame 26 isbeneath the type head it is also supported by the engagement between aflange 12 projecting out from one corner of the frame and a notch 14 inthe lower end of the rod 28.

The frame 26 (Fig. 1) is rectangular in shape and consists of a pair ofauxiliary type supporting bars 16, 11 which are spaced parallel to eachother and are connected by arms 18, 19. The bars 16, 11 are sopositioned that when the frame 26 is in its upper position the shoulders25 on the auxiliary type pieces 2'4 will be seated in marking positionin the recesses in the type wheels I4 on opposite sides of the row oftype projections.

In addition to printing three lines of characters, some manufacturerswish to have the characters framed by a line of circular or ellipticalshape. This is known as window marking and can be made in my machine bythe use of a marking plate 86 (Fig. 4) The marking plate 66 consists ofa pair of side members 82, 84 (Figs. 1 and 3) which have grooves 86, 88formed on their under surface for seating engagement with the bars 16,11. The side members 82, 84 are connected by a web 96 having an opening9| therein through which the characters on the type wheels and theauxiliary type pieces can project for printing engagement with thematerial to be marked and on its under surface (Fig. 4) this web carriesa raised printing surface 92 of desired type encompassing configuration.The web 96 is quite thin so that the auxiliary type pieces 24 can t overthe web and project down into the opening 6I as is indicated in Fig. 1.

The shape of the back of the marking plate 86 (Fig. 1) is similar tothat of the back of the auxiliary type pieces 24 so that the markingplate can t snugly up against the type wheels I4 in the same manner thatthe auxiliary type pieces 24 do. 'Ihe position of the marking plate 86on the supporting frame 26 is controlled by stops 94 which abut thesides of the plate and are fastened to the bars 16, 11 by screws 96.

It has been found desirable to supplement the heat supplied by theheating unit in the hollow sleeve II and to that end the bars 16, 11 aremade hollow to receive heating coils 15. The arms 34, 64 are madetubular to receive conductors 68 which supply current to the heatingcoils 15.

The use and operation of the auxiliary type assembly will be brieflyreviewed. Assuming that there is a row of auxiliary type pieces 24 oneach of the bars 16, 11 and that the frame 26 is in its up position withthe auxiliary type pieces nested against the type wheels I4; to changethe auxiliary type pieces the operator rst presses down on the bar 56moving the entire assembly downwardly against the pull of the spring 42until the latch 52 snaps over the tooth 54 where the assembly will beheldin its lowered position shown in Fig. 2'. The operator then graspsthe bar 64 and swings the frame outwardly about the bar 34 past thelatch 16 into the position shown in Fig. 1. It will be observed that inthis position all the type members, both on the front and back rows, arewell away from the hot type wheels I4 and are readily accessible forinterchanging purposes. Furthermore, as the bar 34 is supported by thespaced bearings 38, 46, there is no possibility of it tilting relativelyto the head and thus spilling the hot auxiliary type members over theoperator, the auxiliary type support being maintained substantiallyhorizontal in each of its several positions and during all movementsfrom one position to another. After the desired changes have been made,the operator releases' i supporting auxiliary type pieces in nestingengagement with said row of type and means constituting an upstandingrod for Vconnecting said auxiliary type supporting member to theprinting head for sliding movement away from the row of type on theprinting head and for pivotal movement about the axis of the rod. A

2. Iny a marking machine, a printing head, a row of type mounted on theprinting head, an auxiliary type supporting member for supportingauxiliary type pieces with their characters adjacent to said row oftype, the auxiliary type supporting member including a bar ofnon-circular cross section arranged for engagement with the auxiliarytype pieces,4 and an upstanding rod secured to said bar, said rod beingconnected to the printing head for pivotal and axially sliding movementwhereby said bar` may be moved away from the row of type to separate theauxiliary type pieces from the row of type ing headfor pivotal andaxially slidable movement whereby said frame may be moved downwardlyaway from the type wheels to separate the auxiliary type pieces from thetype projections and then rotated to move both type supporting bars to aposition in front of the type head where all of the auxiliary typepieces are readily accessible for interchanging purposes.

5. In a marking machine, a printing head, a row of ytype mounted on theprinting head, an auxiliary type supporting member comprising arectangular frame, an upstanding rod secured to said frame, said rodbeing connected to the printing head for pivotal and axially slidingmovement whereby said frame may be moved downwardlyA from the head andthen swung about its pivot to bring the auxiliary type pieces in frontofthe machine in a position where they are readily accessible forinterchanging purposes, and means for holding the rod in its downwardposition.

6. In a marking machine, a printing head, a row of type mounted on theprinting head, an

auxiliary type supporting assembly comprising a carrier slidablyconnected to the head for up and down movements, a frame arranged tosupport auxiliary type pieces ron said assembly with their characters onopposite sides of the row of type,

and then may be swung to-a position in front of f the printing head torender the auxiliary type pieces readily accessible for interchangingpurp'oses. i

3. In a marking machine, a printing head, a

i row of type mounted on the printing head, an

auxiliary type supporting member constructed and arranged removably tosupport auxiliary type pieces with their characters located on oppositesides of the row of type, said auxiliary type supporting membercomprising a rectangular frame having spaced type supporting bars, andan upstanding rod slidably and pivotally connecting said supportingmember to the printing head for vertical movement and pivotal movementin a substantially horizontal plane, and means for supporting said frameagainst tilting movement relatively to the printing vhead while infrontof the head.

4. In a marking machine, a printing'head, a plurality of adjustable typewheels on said head having on their yperipheries type carryingprojections, an vauxiliary type supporting member comprising asubstantially horizontal rectangular frame vhaving a pair of spaced typesupporting bars adapted to support auxiliary type members in nestingengagement with the type wheels adjacent to the type carryingprojectionsy that are in type printing position, and a rod secured tothe frame, said rod .being connected to the printand a pair of membersextending from said frame, one of said members being pivotally connectedto the carrier about a substantially ver-l engagement with said row oftype and to move said auxiliary type pieces from that position to aposition in front of the machine where the auxiliary type pieces arereadily accessible to an operator, said assembly comprising a carrierslidably mounted on the printing head for up and down movements, arectangular auxiliary type supporting frame having spaced typesupporting bars, and a pair of upstanding rods, one of said rodsjournaling the carrier on the frame for movement about that rod as anaxis, said other rod being arranged for latching engagement with thehead, and resilient means for urging the second-mentioned rod into itslatched position.

f 8. In a marking machine, a printing head, a 4row of type mounted onthe printing head, an auxiliary type supporting member for removablysupporting auxiliary type pieces in nesting en- CHARLES E. EDWARDS.

